What Is The Calorie Count In Popcorn?

The next time you pop some popcorn, consider that people have been doing so for over 4,000 years. Popcorn can be a healthy low-calorie food, especially when eaten in moderation without added fats or sugars. Reach for the air-popped kind the next time you want a crunchy, satisfying snack.

Types

If you're a popcorn lover, you have plenty of variety to choose from. You can buy microwave popcorn, purchase popcorn at the movies, eat popcorn that has been popped on the stove or choose air-popped popcorn. Yellow popcorn is the most common, but white popcorn, which produces snow-white kernels when popped, is commonly found in grocery stores. You can even buy blue popcorn, although you may have to go to a gourmet food store to find it.

Calories, Carbohydrates and Protein

An ounce of standard microwave popcorn -- approximately 3 cups -- contains 149 calories. Low-fat microwave popcorn contains 114 calories -- about as many as air-popped popcorn. Popcorn that is prepared on the stove will contain about the same amount of calories as regular microwave popcorn, although this will vary somewhat depending on how much oil you use. You can count on movie popcorn being at the top end of the scale, especially if you request added butter.

Popcorn is high in carbohydrates and contains up to 22 g carbohydrates per serving. Popcorn also contains 3 to 4 g fiber per 1-oz. serving, making it a healthy addition to your diet when it is prepared in a health-conscious manner. Popcorn has approximately 3 g protein per 1-oz. serving.

Fats

The amount of fiber and nutrients per calorie depends on how it is prepared. Regular microwave popcorn contains 8.5 g fat, including saturated and trans fats. Trans fat promotes insulin resistance, inflammation and heart disease, according to Harvard's School of Public Health. Saturated fat isn't much better and too much of any fat can provide unwanted calories.

Eliminate most of the fat in popcorn by choosing either low-fat microwave popcorn, which has less than 2 g fat per 3 cup serving or by popping corn in an air popper, which will lower the fat content to 1 g per serving. Flavor your popcorn with spices or a few dashes of parmesan cheese instead of butter to keep the fat content low.

Benefits

A 1-oz. serving of popcorn contains 35 mg magnesium and 357 mg of lutein, a nutrient that helps to prevent inflammation and keep your eyes healthy. It also contains trace amounts of many other vitamins and minerals. Nutrients, however, are not the primary reason you should make popcorn a part of your diet. Eat popcorn for the fiber -- with 4 g of fiber per ounce, you'll get a significant amount of the 20 to 40 g of fiber that the USDA recommends most adults get per day.

Warning

Eating commercially prepared popcorn is not a healthy option, unless it is specifically labeled "low-fat." You'll be consuming saturated and trans fat, neither of which are good for your body. The amount of fat and calories in most commercial popcorn may cause your diet to derail, as portion sizes for popcorn can be rather large. Also, popcorn that has a candy coating can put your calorie consumption into the stratosphere. Never inhale the fumes from microwave popcorn, as the fumes from the Diacetyl flavoring can irritate and even scar the lungs.